Bell "stoked" to manage ValleyCats

27-year-old helped win title in Astros' system last year

Jason Bell was development coach for the Quad Cities River Bandits, the Astros' Class A affiliate that won the Midwest League last year. (Tri-City ValleyCats)

Jason Bell was development coach for the Quad Cities River Bandits, the Astros' Class A affiliate that won the Midwest League last year. (Tri-City ValleyCats)

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Jason Bell was development coach for the Quad Cities River Bandits, the Astros' Class A affiliate that won the Midwest League last year. (Tri-City ValleyCats)

Jason Bell was development coach for the Quad Cities River Bandits, the Astros' Class A affiliate that won the Midwest League last year. (Tri-City ValleyCats)

Bell "stoked" to manage ValleyCats

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The youngest manager in Tri-City ValleyCats history said he'll be prepared for the opportunity.

Jason Bell, 27, will be the franchise's ninth manager when the Astros' New York Penn-League affiliate opens its season against Vermont on June 15 at Bruno Stadium. His assignment was announced last week.

"I do feel I'm ready," Bell said in a phone interview Friday. "Whenever it gets going, I'll have a better feel for it. But I'm excited to start an extended spring training to start our season, then I can get adjusted to a lot of the little things that you have to deal with as a manager as opposed to being an assistant coach."

Bell, who lives in Tampa, Fla., during the offseason, will report to Houston's extended spring training for minor-leaguers in West Palm Beach at the beginning of March before moving on to his first managerial job with Tri-City.

"I'm stoked for it," Bell said. "I've heard a lot of good things about the area, about the team, the following and obviously there's been plenty of good players that have gone through (Tri-City)."

That includes Jose Altuve and George Springer, key members of Houston's first World Series champion last year.

Bell was also part of a title last year. In his first year in the Astros' organization, he served as development coach for the Class A Quad Cities River Bandits when they won the Midwest League.

Bell said his position involved looking at data and analytics from games and putting together a plan to help the players improve. The Astros' organization is driven heavily by analytics.

The River Bandits had several players who were in Tri-City before being promoted.

"It was awesome to be part of that because that's what it's all about, if you can help these guys win while developing them," Bell said. "It was a great experience."

Bell credited Quad Cities manager Russ Steinhorn, a former ValleyCats hitting coach, for giving him a lot of responsibility. Bell said he talked to Houston director of player development Pete Putila and director of minor league operations Armando Velasco about the possibility of managing this season.

"I like to bring a lot of good, positive energy," he said. "I'm excited to lay some of the foundation with a lot of the new 2018 draft picks and try to get them ready to be Houston Astros."

Bell, who turns 28 in July, won't be much older than the players he's managing.

"There is a little bit sometimes of a tougher dynamic with that because sometimes they want to be your friend," Bell said. "But at the same time, sometimes I think it's almost easier to relate to them when you're closer to them in age."

Bell, raised in Chesterfield, Mo., was a college pitcher at St. Louis University and later transferred to Division II Central Missouri, where he underwent Tommy John surgery. He earned a master's degree in kinesiology and sports management from Central Missouri.

Bell wrote a paper for his master's during the 2013-14 school year that predicted the Astros "will win a World Series within the next few years."

"That's when the Astros were losing 110 games or so, but they were saving the most runs," Bell said. "They were doing all these things the right way that weren't getting noticed at the time. That's when I really started to follow what they do, and that's something I wanted to be a part of."

Bell. who didn't play professionally, served as an assistant coach at Ohio University and Maryland Eastern-Shore before the Astros hired him.